The Heart Of A Lion
by straykilljoy
Summary: Cullen thought when he left Kirkwall to join the Inquisition he'd leave all the pieces of that life behind but, when someone from his past walks- or more so is dragged in chains- back into his life he's forced to face feelings that he'd never truly considered.
1. Chapter 1

Quick author's note: This is a CullenxInquisitor fic that explores the idea of the Inquisitor coming from a different background than the ones provided in game. (I apologize in advance for my awful spelling and grammar mistakes.)

The clanking of metal armor set them all on edge. The keeper had expected this but that didn't help ease the ice in her veins. She looked across the clan's hunters who surrounded the camp. She clenched her jaw in an attempt to keep tears from over the edges of her eyes. Whatever happened to them, to her clan, was her fault; she had brought this upon them. She watched the soldiers approached as she listened to the clanking and scraping off the metal they wore.

A small hand wrapped around her cold fingers. "It will be alright," a small voice chimed. She looked down at her second. She balled the fingers of her free hand into a fist; she let one tear slip down her cheek. He was so young; he couldn't understand the threat these shemlin posed.

The sound of metal colliding stopped and the keeper ripped her gaze from her second. She stared up at a man who stood at the head of the mass of soldiers. He wore a large metal helmet that was shaped like a lion. As he removed his helmet one of the hunters lifted an arrow to his throat.

"We wish to speak peacefully," the shem said calmly. He looked past the hunter and met eyes with the keeper. "No blood need be shed here."

"There are many times no blood need be shed but your people are always willing to shed it anyway," the keeper hissed. "But we will speak. Lower your bow, da'len."

A voice came from the middle of the soldiers. "Wait a minute!" The next few moments were filled with frustrated grunts from the shemlin soldiers as they moved aside to make room from the men- whom the keeper could not see. "Daisy?" the voice continued as its owner broke through the line of soldiers. "Is that really you?"

The keeper fell to her knees and wrapped her arms around the neck of the dwarf. "Varric!" she yelped as she hugged him tightly.

"So you're a keeper now, huh?" he chuckled. "You're moving up in the world."

She looked back at her clan and turned back to smile at her old friend. It seemed like ages since she'd stood at the champion's side in Kirkwall even though, in reality, it had been less than a year. They continued talking until the lion loudly clearing his throat interrupted their conversation.

"An elf was seen fleeing the scene after the conclave exploded," the lion headed shemlin explained. "We have reason to believe she came to seek refuge with this clan."

"Keeper," her second whispered.

"She said we should waste no lives protecting her," Merrill sighed bringing herself to her feet. "Please go get our guests."

Her second nodded reluctantly and walked off. He returned a few minutes later, alone. "They are gone," her second said cheerfully. "So is Amairen."

"What? Why would she leave?" Merrill paced for a few moments before her head shot up. "The baby!" she yelped. "She thought we would send her away because of the baby!" She stumbled forward and grabbed her staff. "Follow me."

"Cassandra," the lion shouted, "take a small group and follow the keeper."

Before he could be told to stay Varric was chasing close behind Merrill. The clanking of armor and the sound of Cassandra yelling orders followed close behind them. The Dalish woman, Amairen, stumbled through the forest before coming to an awkward stop; she turned to face her pursuers.

"I'm sorry keeper," she sniffled. "I can't stay. I can't be your first. She's my daughter, she needs me." She looked down at the baby in her arms then back up.

"No," Merrill replied. "She needs her clan."

"But she is hu-"

"No," Merrill repeated. "She is Dalish."

The woman turned and smiled at a group that stood on the edge of the scene. The group consisted of an elven woman, a dwarven woman, and a qunari woman. The elven woman nodded lightly at Merrill and gave a warm smile. The smile did not last long; once she noticed Cassandra she turned and began running.

"Stop!" Cassandra shouted.

Another woman and a scout moved forward swiftly. "If you do not stop," the woman called, "the dwarf and qunari die."

The elven woman turned and walked back calmly. "Fine," she sighed. "I'm listening." She stood and listened boredly as Cassandra spoke. A loud gasp slipped from the seeker's mouth as the elf raised her hand to her face to sweep a tangle of black hair from her eye. When the gasp slipped from Cassandra's mouth the elven woman quickly buried her hand into her robes.

"Leliana," Cassandra whispered.

"I saw it," she answered. The spymaster removed her blade from the dwarf's throat. "The Inquisition needs you."

"The Inquisition's even managed to drag the Nightingale into this shit?" the elf laughed. "I suppose we'll see what it's about then."

They began heading back to the camp. The elf and her group walked in the front with an Inquisition scout on either side of them. They were only about half way to camp before the elf turned and punched the left scout followed by the qunari punching the one on the right. "Move, move, move!" she shouted and each member of the group took off in a different direction.

She laughed with satisfaction as she listened to the confusion behind her. Suddenly her face hit the ground and she was spiting grass from her mouth. "We have to help them," a small voice chirped. It was then that she realized what had caused her fall, a small set of arms wrapped around her leg.

"No we don't!" she hissed.

"She's over here," the owner of the, impossibly strong, arms shouted.

"Little Bird," the elf spat, "you traitor!"

"I'm helping," the little girl argued. She used her leg and kicked the elf's hand, "It's killing you."

"You'll be killing me if you don't let go," she argued leaning to try to pry the girl from her legs. The sound of clanking armor drew closer as she struggled against the girl wrapped around her legs.

"Please tie her up," Little Bird said looking up at Cassandra, "or she'll try to run again."

The elf looked at the qunari and dwarf who shrugged when she raised an eyebrow at them. She put up no fight as they bound her hands. The rest of the trip back to camp was filled with only the sound of clanking armor and an occasional angry grunt from one of the three "prisoners". Little Bird rode on Cassandra's shoulders, braiding her messy hair into a sort of circle crown on the head.

When they reached the camp the soldiers regained their ranks and Cassandra moved the remaining group forward. Merrill and Amairen moved into the camp and the other lined up in front of the lion. They all kept their heads bowed, refusing to acknowledge the man in front of them.

"We will bring them to Haven for questioning," he stated. "Thank you for your cooperation, keeper."

Merrill nodded sadly and the group moved out. The elf tried to orchestrate three escapes on the way to Haven. When they arrived they were all separated. The qunari and dwarf were kept in cells as they brought the elven woman out to the center of the room. Cassandra began questioning her but got nothing between shouts from the qunari and dwarf, and the shear hard headedness' of the elf.

"Don't tell 'em anything, Isaura!" the dwarf yelled.

Cassandra made a loud frustrated noise and moved the elf, who was apparently named Isaura, outside. She pointed at the people scattered all over the small village. "Everyone is affected by the breach," she sighed. "We believe you can close it; they need your help."

Isaura looked over the people. Sad. Sick. Hopeless. She looked at Cassandra. "If I can help, I will."

Cassandra nodded thankfully began leading the way. She explained what had happened at the conclave and told of the people that had gathered at Haven. They reached the edge of the village and Cassandra cut the binds from Isaura's hands.

They didn't speak until Isaura's hand pulsed a deep green and she collapsed. Cassandra kneeled by her side. "The pulses are coming faster now and it is killing you," she stated.

"It's worse when you're closer," Isaura grunted coming to her feet.

They continued down the road until they reached another bridge. Isaura listened to Cassandra talk about people watching her flee the conclave, a beam of magic poured down from the breach and they tumbled down as the bridge fell apart.

Cassandra screamed at Isaura to stay back and charged towards a demon. Isaura stumbled to her feet and picked up a set of daggers that had scattered to the ground. She ran swiftly into the fight and began attacking the demons. Once all their enemies had fallen Isaura gave a laughing sigh and prepared to make a joke but when she looked up Cassandra's sword was pointed at her throat.

"Put your weapons down," she demanded.

"Alright," Isaura sighed. "I'll disarm."

Cassandra watched as she leaned to put the weapons onto the frozen lake; before Isaura could actually let the weapons go Cassandra sighed loudly. "Wait. You will need them. I should remember you did not try to run."

Isaura smiled lightly and turned to search for back sheaths to keep her weapons in. Most of them had been destroyed when the bridge had but she managed with a pair that were only slightly ripped. She used her foot to scrape snow away from the ice so she could see herself; Cassandra gave a disgusted grunt and continued on.

"Wait up!" Isaura laughed chasing after her. She started telling a story about how she met her qunari friend, who was named Malika. "And I just looked her straight in the eye and said 'Qunari, huh? Ya feelin' horny?"

"Please stop," Cassandra groaned. She paused and narrowed her eyes. "We've almost reached the forward camp. You can hear the fighting."

"Fighting? Who's fighting?"

"You'll see soon enough?" Cassandra continued. "We have to help them."

"Isaura Kintelon forced to help people for free," she grumbled to herself. "The world really is ending."

They met up with a group of soldiers fighting demons beneath a green hole in the air. Isaura and Cassandra quickly joined in on the fighting. The soldiers had already killed most of the demons so the fight didn't last long.

Once all the demons had fallen a bald elven man grabbed Isaura's hand. "Quickly! Before more come through!" He yelled forcing her arm into the air. Magic spanned from her hand and the hole collapsed onto itself and disappeared.

The elven man smiled victoriously for a moment, still holding Isaura's hand in the air. His victory was short lived because after a few moments Isaura's free hand collided with his face. "Keep your bloody hands off me," she hissed. The elven man stared up in her at shock. "What? Have you never been hit before?"

"Hit, yes. Punched, no," he replied cautiously standing back up.

Isaura looked at his eye where the skin was red and puffy. "That's gonna bruise," she chuckled. "You just got your first black eye, Shiny."

"Shiny?" Cassandra interrupted.

"Yeah, look at his head," Isaura laughed. "It's shiny."

"I would prefer to be called Solas."

"Sure thing, Shiny," she giggled. She turned to the dwarven man beside Solas. "Varric Tethras I presume."

"The one and only. You're the one Hawke had me send those letters to back in Kirkwall, right?"

"Yeah. I owe you two a lot," she smiled. "You helped me save a lot of lives."

"We need to keep moving," Cassandra cut in.

Isaura sighed and started walking. Cassandra, Varric, and Solas followed behind her; Solas stayed silent while Varric and Cassandra argued. "By the way," Isaura stated. "I have no idea where I'm going."

Cassandra pushed to the front of the group and started leading. Varric jogged to catch up with Isaura. "What was Kirkwall like when you left?" He asked.

"I'm sure you already know that Sebastian invaded," she sighed. "He layed waste to Darktown in an attempt to weed Anders out but, when he couldn't find him he tore apart all the places Hawke's companions used to stay. What few templars remained joined the citizens in fighting Sebastian's soldiers. I've received constant letters from my contacts there; I hear they've almost completely regained control of the city. They'll elect a new viscount and begin rebuilding Darktown once the Sebastian issue is resolved."

"What about the breach?"

"As far as I know, it hasn't caused any problems for the people there." They continued talking about Kirkwall and how the people were recovering after the incident with Anders. They'd been so caught up in their own conversation that they hadn't noticed they'd reached yet another bridge.

Isaura raised her eyes from the dwarf and focused them on Leliana who stood at a table with a man from the chantry. They both looked overwhelmingly angry. As Isaura and her companions approached the chantry man began screaming for guards to arrest her. Cassandra demanded they disregard the order and Leliana began discussing which way they should take to reach the breach.

"The soldiers," Isaura interrupted. "We should charge with the soldiers. We lose less lives that way and we can search for the scouts after we close the breach." Cassandra stared at her dumbfounded. She hadn't thought Isaura would be the type to take charge.

"But the scouts-" Leliana began.

"The scouts are resourceful," Isaura replied. "They'll find ways to survive. The soldiers are fighting for their lives; they're less likely to survive."

Leliana stared at her for a few moments before nodding. Isaura began walking to the other end of the bridge followed by her silent companions.

"You are no Herald of Andraste," chancellor Roderick called after her. "You are not even a Herald to your own people."

She turned and walked backwards as she spoke, "I know," she smiled. Varric walked behind her kicking debris out of the way to make sure she didn't trip. "I'm no Herald. Andraste didn't chose me for anything." She raised her hand into the air and it shone a toxic green. "But I'm your only hope for closing the breach." She turned back around and looked at Varric. "Please tell me I looked as cool as I think I did."

He chuckled lightly and nodded. She did a small victory jump and Cassandra made a disgusted noise.

"Don't celebrate yet," Solas sighed. "The sky is still torn."


	2. Chapter 2

(Sorry my chapters are so short!)

"There!" Cassandra yelled. Inquisition soldiers gathered below a fade rift fighting off demons as they fell. They quickly cleared out the demons.

"Close it!" Varric shouted.

"I'm working on it!" Isaura yelled back. She raised her hand into the air and the torn sky healed itself. She sighed and brought her hand to her side.

"You alright?" Varric asked coming to her side. "You aren't looking too hot, bright eyes."

"Not feeling too hot," she coughed. "We need to close this shit soon." Varric nodded lightly and then brought his gaze to the soldiers in front of them. "I swear when I find the asshole who broke the sky I'm gonna-"

Varric elbowed her in the thigh stopping her mid-sentence. She raised an eyebrow at him and he jerked his head towards the group in front of them. She ran her eyes over the group until her gaze locked on one soldier in particular. His armor was nicer, stronger. She dragged her eyes from his armor and set them on his face.

"You're alive," the words spilled from her lips but they fell so quietly that no one could make it out. She shook her head and pushed through the soldiers. "Someone else should lead the way," she said stiffly. "I've got no idea where I'm going."

"Isaura," Cullen called after her.

"I'll just get us lost if you don't take charge, Cassandra," she continued.

Cassandra sighed loudly and told the commander they'd meet him back at Haven. Varric tried talking to Isaura about how she'd responded to seeing Cullen but she quickly brushed it off.

Finally, they reached the place where the Temple of Sacred Ashes once stood. Her companions spoke about how she'd walked from the fade and how soldiers had tried to catch her as she'd run. She stayed silent out of respect for the dead that surrounded her.

"Just get me up there and I'll close it," she stated stiffly. "Then this is done and I'm out of here." They walked through the temple as voices spilled through the air. Cassandra yelled about how one of the voices was Isaura's. "I don't remember anything. Can we please just get this over with?"

They moved under the breach and everyone began preparing themselves. A pride demon fell from the breach and came charging towards them. Isaura grabbed Solas by the collar of his shirt and pulled him out of its path. "Distract it," she hissed. "If I weaken the breach, it'll weaken the demon."

Solas nodded and ran to pass the message to their companions. Isaura raised her hand to the sky; her hand pulsed bright green and she grunted in pain as it did. The demon collapsed and she turned to help fight it. They continued in that pattern until the demon fell.

"Now!" Cassandra yelled. Isaura raised her hand to the breach and sealed it. The magic in her hand stopped and she collapsed onto the ground.

"The breach-" Leliana whispered.

"Is stable," Solas interrupted. "Your Herald is not. We need to bring her back to Haven."  
They watched as Solas slipped his arms beneath her and carried her off. When they reached Haven he found an empty cabin and laid her down on the bed. He used healing magic on her for the first few hours before he left alone.  
She awoke hours later to quiet arguing outside the door.

"Leave her be!" Solas's voice hissed. "She needs time to heal."

"I need to," Cullen sighed. "I need to- nevermind what I need to do, I'm going in there."

"You will not," Solas growled back.

The door of the cabin opening distracted her from the argument. A small servant girl entered and dropped the things she was carrying. She began rambling about Cassandra and the people of Haven.

"Quiet yourself," Isaura whispered. "It's alright."

"Right away," the girl stammered running out the door. "Lady Cassandra said right away.

Isaura quickly pulled on a pair of boots that sat in the corner and slipped out the window to make sure she didn't have to face the bickering pair outside. She ran to the chantry where she caught up with Cassandra.

"We were able to seal the breach but, it is only temporary," Cassandra sighed. "I hope you will stay willingly to help us."

"I'll stay," Isaura sighed. "The world's gone to shit and there's no hiding from it."

"I'm glad," Cassandra smiled. "Cullen, Josephine, and Leliana will be here soon to discuss- where are you going?"

"I can't run from the sky," she yelped. "But I can run from that!" She turned and bolted out the doors of the chantry. She ran past the cabin she'd been in where Cullen and Solas were still arguing. She grabbed Solas by his collar and yanked him away. "People to kill, sky holes to close," she shouted.

"Isaura," Cullen called. "I need to speak with you."

"I can't hear you!" She laughed. "Run faster, Shiny."

As they ran from Haven Isaura found Varric and they traveled to the hinterlands. Solas muttered about poor planning and how they should have brought Cassandra and Varric made poorly timed jokes.

They traveled until night fell and they set up camp. Isaura pushed her way from her tent and sat on the edge of a cliff near the camp. Leaves cracked beneath feet and she turned to meet eyes with Solas.

"I wish to speak with you," he sighed sitting beside her.

"About?" She asked.

"Cullen," he replied. She stood up and turned to walk away. "You can't avoid it forever."

She paused and turned to look at him. "I know," she whispered and sat back down. "I've known him since we were both young. I lived in Honneleath as a child but when my parents died I had to leave to live with my uncle; he didn't want me so he sold me to a Tevinter slaver." She paused and bit at her lip. Solas set his hand gently onto her shoulder and she continued. "The slaver then sold me off to the Antivan Crows. One of the older kids in the Crows got me out of it pretty early; he said people like the Crows are poison to good souls. That was the first and last time someone compared my soul to something good."

"You're soul is a good one," Solas smiled, "trust in that."

She smiled back at him and continued her story. "I was just a kid with no where to go. I ended up, unintentionally, running my own group of assassins. We never took jobs any of us saw as immoral, we asked no more coin than what people could afford, and we never interfered with people of power. We also worked a lot with freeing mages, which is when I first saw Cullen again. He'd always wanted to be a Templar but I never thought he'd actually do it."

She paused at the sound of someone moving within the camp. "It's just a nug that stumbled into camp," Solas chuckled.

"Damn nugs," she giggled. "Anyway, we ran into each other a lot in Kirkwall. When the circle fell I thought he'd died. I stayed underground moving mages out of the city in the aftermath but I sent letters into what remained the circle, no one had seen him. And now I'm here and he's alive and I just-"

"You've got the hots for our commander," Varric interrupted. "Sorry to disappoint you, I'm not a nug."

Isaura glared at Solas for a moment before getting up and walking back to her tent. She closed her eyes and quickly drifted off to sleep.

She woke up to Cassandra's voice shouting commands outside her tent. She crawled out and stared up at the warrior. "When did you get here?" She yawned.

"Not long. I believe your adventures have gained us enough renown to travel to Val Royeaux," Cassandra replied.

"That chantry lady we met said we should do that," Isaura muttered.

"Yes, Mother Giselle suggested it. She is back at Haven now."

Isaura nodded and stood up, fumbling her fingers through her hair. She looked across the camp where her companions all sat ready to go. Then, she noticed Cullen walking towards her. She turned to run but a slim hand wrapped around her wrist.

"Let go Solas," she begged.

"Speak with him," he whispered.

She yanked her hand away from Solas and walked towards the lake they'd camped near; Cullen followed.

"Isaura," he began.

"Who the _fuc_k do you think you are?" She hissed. She wrapped her hands into the fur of his cape and pulled him to her eye level. "I sent letters to the circle _and yo_u specifically."

"I- I just-"

"Just what?" She snapped. "You just couldn't waste your time letting me know you were alive? Are you fucking kidding me?" She untwisted her hands from his cloak and shoved him away from her. "We've never been on the same side," she sighed and the rage left her voice, "not really. But we were a team god damn it. We made a fucking promise."

"Isaura," he whispered.

"Yeah," she muttered, "that's my name." With that she turned to walk away. He reached out and grabbed her hand. She spun around stared at him with red puffy eyes and tears plastered to her cheeks. "Let go," she said softly. "Please."

He let go of her hand and she took off running. She pulled herself into the roof of the nearby cabin and laid across it. She rubbed her hands angrily at the tears that fell muttering curses at herself with every droplet that spilled over her eyelids. She laid her arm over her eyes and let the sun soak into her skin.

"Hello?" A husky voice called. "Is someone there?"

"No," Isaura groaned. "I'm not here. I'm back in Honneleath not having to worry about any of this shit."

"My roof isn't Honneleath," the voice called up.

Isaura stood up and jumped down from the roof. "I wish it was," she sighed. She looked over the man in front of her. "There's a griffin on your armor," she stated.

"Yes there is," he chuckled.

"Grey warden?" She asked. He nodded. "I like your beard.

"Thank you, my lady," he smirked.

"I'm nobody's lady," she muttered. She turned and started walking back towards camp. "What's your name?" She called over her shoulder.

"Blackwall," he yelled.

"I like your roof Ser Blackwall!"

Isaura walked from the cabin and back to camp. One of the scouts explained that everyone had gone back to Haven and offered to escort her back as well; she left the camp alone. When she arrived back at Haven she found Malika holding Cullen above the ground, his back pressed against the wall.

"You were the last one to see her!" she growled. "Where is she you bloody Templar piece of shit?"

"Malika," Isaura sighed. "Put him down."

Malika dropped Cullen, who hit the ground with a loud thud, and turned to Isaura. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" she yelled. She pulled Isaura into a tight hug and whispered, "What happened?"

"I'll tell you later," Isaura whispered back. Malika let her go and nodded understandingly. "When do we leave for Val Royeaux?" she asked turning to Cullen. He explained the situation and what had to be done. Isaura quickly met with Cassandra, Varric, and Solas and prepared to leave.

They had almost made it out of Haven when a tiny pair of arms wrapped around Isaura's legs. She stopped and looked down at Little Bird. "I'm sorry you're sad," she said. "He's sad too."

"I know," Isaura sighed holding her hand out.

Little Bird took her hand and stood up. "I want you to be happy. He wants you to be happy."

Isaura smiled down at her and jerked her head towards the village, "You should go back now."

"Don't you want to be happy?" she whispered.

"A lot of people are counting on me," Isaura sighed. "I can't let them down. If saving people means being sad, then I'm going to be sad."

"Why can't you be happy and save people?" Little Bird asked wiping tears from her cheeks.

"I tried and a lot of people got hurt because of it. I can't do that again. Go on back to camp now."

The little girl stared up at Isaura with big brown eyes that welled with tears. She dug into the pockets of her coat and held up a crumpled, half-wilted flower. "I think you can be happy," she sniffled. Isaura placed the sad-looking flower behind her ear and continued on her way out of Haven.


	3. Chapter 3

After they left Val Royeaux they traveled to Redcliffe. Isaura was harsh and rude to the magister in the tavern but somewhat more gently with the one in the chantry. When they returned to camp she quickly slipped away from everyone.

She traveled back to the cabin by the lake and knocked on the door; no one answered. She pushed the door open and went inside. She perched on the table and began drinking a bottle of Grey Whiskey that sat on it.

"Who's there?" A familiar voice demanded.

"The Empress of Orlais," Isaura called back.

"To what do I owe such an honor?" he laughed. He stepped into the cabin and smiled at her. "My lady."

"I'm no lady," she stated.

"An empress who is no lady?" He chuckled. "Sounds scandalous." She smiled and handed him the bottle. He took a sip and handed it back. "So who are you?"

She held her hand out and it flashed a light green. "Some people call me the Herald of Andraste, those people are not the chantry. My name's Isaura though, and I'd prefer you call me that."

"An empress and a herald? You're an impressive woman."

"I close sky holes and kill people," she sighed. "That's not anything impressive, Ser Blackwall."

"I'm no one deserving of a Ser."

"And I'm no one deserving of a Lady," she took a huge gulp of the whiskey then passed it to Blackwall. "You should join the Inquisition, because your company doesn't make me want to throw myself off the top of Redcliffe's chantry."

He drank from the bottle and handed it back. "Alright."

"Wait, really?"

He nodded and they began walking back to camp. Isaura carried the bottle with her and drank from it the entire way. When they arrived at camp Cassandra began shouting about responsibility and dedication to the Inquisition. Isaura nodded and turned to go back to Haven.

"You okay Bright Eyes?" Varric asked jogging to catch up with her.

"Ya know I really hate Templars and Lord Seeker Lucius in particular. I also really hate Tevinter and Grand Enchantress Fiona. I really just hate everyone right now. I need a drink- wait, no- I need a lot of drinks."

Varric, Solas, and Blackwall walked beside Isaura quietly as Cassandra continued yelling behind them. When they returned to Haven Isaura went immediately to the tavern. She began drinking with Sera, an elven rouge they'd met in Val Royeaux.

When the sun finally fell behind the horizon Isaura began stumbling back to her cabin. She tripped over her own feet and muttered curses. She looked up to see Cullen and then tripped again. He moved forward and caught her before she face planted into the dirt.

"I am so angry at you," she slurred. "So angry. We promised."

"I know we did," he whispered, helping her stand up straight. "I'm sorry."

"We promised," she repeated. She pushed herself away from him and balled her fist. She swung forward with as much force as she could but she only managed to bruise her fist on his armor and fall to the ground. "We promised," she said once again as tears stained her cheeks. He sat down next to her on the ground and she curled up against his chest. "You're my best friend," she sniffled. "I'm so mad at you but you're my best friend."

He ran his fingers through her hair and whispered quiet _I__know'_s to her as she slurred about promises and friends. After a while she fell silent; he slid his hands under her legs and around her torso and carried her to her cabin. He laid her in her bed and she quickly tangled herself into the covers. She shook like a leaf, even with all the blankets wrapped around her like a cocoon. He pulled his cloak off and set it over her.

She squirmed, and wiggled, and brought the cloak closer to her body. He lent down and kissed her forward.

"Promised," she slurred sleepily.

"I know," he whispered back. "I know."

She slept quietly through the night bundled in an excess of blankets. When she finally woke to sun pouring through the windows her legs were trapped in terrible tangles like when Little Bird would hold her ankles. Cullen's cloak was bundled under her head.

She stood up and stretched, making loud squeaks as she did. She put Cullen's cloak on and stumbled out of the cabin. The light of the morning burned her eyes. She teetered unsteadily into the chantry where her advisors were waiting for her.

When Cassandra saw the cloak draped around Isaura's shoulders she raised an eyebrow at Cullen. He smiled awkwardly and moved his hands through his hair. "Good morning, Herald," he beamed.

"Good morning commander, spy master, ambassador," Isaura smiled, "and Cassandra."

Cassandra squinted her eyes at her and then began talking about how they needed more influence before they could secure an alliance with the Templars or approach the Tevinter mage in his usurped castle. She handed Isaura a letter and suggested the go to meet Madame Vivienne when they had the time. As she exited the chantry she was approached by a soldier who told her about a mercenary group on the Storm Coast.

She left with Blackwall, Solas, and Sera to begin gaining influence among the people. Within a few days they had managed to gain enough renown to approach their allies of choice. They'd made all the preparations and they were to approach the mages in the morning.

Isaura ran towards Varric, holding a piece of paper in her hand. "Write something

"What?"

"I need you to write 'Thank you' on this," she clarified extending her hand. She opened her hand and waited for him to take the crumpled parchment from her palm.

"Why?" he asked.

"I was a slave," she sighed. "No one ever taught me how to read or write and until lately it was never something I really needed."

He took the paper from her hand and scribbled the words onto it. She thanked him and took off running. She entered the war room and set Cullen's folded cloak onto the table. She doodled a small heart on the note Varric had written for her and set it on top of the fabric. Then, she walked happily back to her cabin; she stopped to speak with Sera on the way.

"I need you to tell Cullen there's an emergency war council meeting," Isaura stated.

"Is there?"

"No."

"Great," Sera smiled.

"You aren't gonna ask any other questions?"

"Nope," she laughed running out of the tavern.

Isaura set off, once again, for her cabin. She removed her daggers and her boots and settled into her cot. The warmth of her blankets engulfed her and the gently sent of Cullen's cloak danced around on her pillow. She smiled softly as she drifted to sleep.

"You need to get to the chantry now!" Sera demanded. There's a war council meeting or something. I think the Herald's hurt!"

He didn't miss a beat. As soon as the words left Sera's lips he was running to the chantry. He burst through the doors and stumbled into the war room. He searched the empty room in distress, panting for air. His eyes settled on the pile of cloth in the middle of the table. She'd knocked over a few of the Inquisition markers when she'd set it down, but he smiled none the less. He pulled the cloak on over his armor and examined the note. The words showed evidence of a skilled hand, someone who would have callouses on their fingers from all the writing they'd done. The small heart in the corner was shaky and uneven, like the hands that had drawn it had never held a pen. He slipped the paper into the pocket of his cloak and smiled at the thought of the words, they were simple but they were hers. _Thank you._


End file.
